A Long Time to Wait
by Twipothonmax
Summary: "Oh and Lily," He looks to see if I'm okay with him calling me by my first name. I cock an eyebrow. He gives a small smile and says "never is a long time to wait." Hi! First fanfic, 150% open to PM ideas and CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. Thanks! :3
1. Never is a long time to wait

**The Stag and the Red-Head**

_**Chapter 1**_

Poke. Poke. Poke.

What the?

Poke poke poke poke poke.

I'm trying to sleep! What the hell is poking me?!

I roll over with a moan, hoping it will stop.

POKE POKE POKE POKE POKE!

"FINE I'LL GET UP!"

"About time Lily! We're gonna have to miss breakfast!"

I look up to see the source of the voice. The girl I see, her beautiful dark sea-blue eyes shining down at me. She has gorgeous black straight hair, not a strand out of place. It's collar-bone length. It's Hestia Jones, my best friend, my room-mate and my super-annoying alarm clock.

"WHAT! Damn it Hestia, I'm starving! Where's Marlene?"

"She's eating breakfast! Come on, get dressed! Your stuff's in the bathroom!"

She shouted, but I was already through the bathroom door. Oh, I'm so gonna fail 6th year. Hestia is so beautiful. Tall, but not overly-tall, slender, but not a stick. And Marlene is boys' dream, like Hestia she is tall, a little higher than Hest though. She has bright light blue eyes which break hearts. Her hair is lower-back-long, light blonde and wavy.

I look in the mirror. Damn. I look the same. Short, average. From my boobs to my body type. Instead of an hourglass figure, I get this. And my most distinctive features, my emerald green eyes, though bright and beautiful, not exactly unique. My dark red hair, flowing un-evenly to my mid-back, my fly- away hair pointing in different directions.

I sigh. I have no time for make-up or a shower if I want to eat. Which I definitely do. I chuck my Gryffindor uniform on and race down stairs.

"Good luck today!" Cries the Fat Lady as I race away from the common room. What could she mean by that? Oh no. Oh no, no, no.

I have Prefect duties with Potter. Today. Tonight.

"Honestly, what were the Heads thinking?!" I mutter, walking into the great hall.

"Thinking about what?" A voice said behind me. I turn to face them.

"Marly! Thanks to you I have to scoff my breakfast!"

"Sorry Lily, but I was soooooooooooooooooooooo hungry!"

"Whatever, you left me. Just know I hate you bitch." I say mockingly.

"Hey! At least I waited for you! Anyway, I've got an early lesson." She glances over my shoulder.

"Oh, you can eat with Potter," She says, wiggling her eyebrows "later!" she says and runs off, before I can bite her head off. I turn around, and sure enough, sits at the Gryffindor table is the bane of my existence.

"Hello Evans." He says cockily, with his causal half-smile.

I groan. The Great Hall is empty apart from us, and I know wherever I sit he'll sit with me. I could maybe leav- nope, my stomach vocally protested against that idea.

"Got a grumbler there, don't you Evans?" He chuckles.

"Yes."

"Go out with me Ev-"

"I SWEAR YOU HAVE SAID NINE WORDS AND YOU HAVE ALREADY ASKED ME OUT! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! GET IT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULL THAT WE WILL _**NEVER **_BE TOGETHER!"

Potter looks stunned. I think he's having a mental battle with himself, so I leave. I'm absolutely starving, but I can stand it more than Potter. I'm almost at Potions when I hear "EVANS! WAIT!"

"What!" I shout, but not too loudly (I don't want to upset Slughorn).

I see something white in his hands as he sprints down the Hall. What could it be? He gets to a talking distance.

"Evans just" Puff. "hear me" Puff. "out okay?"

"Geez Potter, take a deeeeeep breath" I say, amused. He does.

"Evans I'm sorry, but you have to understand why I constantly ask you out. Anyway, we're late for Potions, but I know you must be starving." He hands me a white napkin with a cheese grilled-sandwich. I smile at him (not a common occurrence) and in return he pulls a full-face smile. And not a Potter smirk kind.

"Uh, thanks Pot-"His whole face goes down. Oh, fine! "-James." Impossibly, his smile is even bigger when he is about to open the Potions door.

"Oh and Lily," He looks to see if I'm okay with him calling me by my first name. I cock an eyebrow. He gives a small smile and says "never is a long time to wait."

* * *

"_**Never is a long time to wait". **_Those seven words had been going through Lily's mind all day. What does it mean? That he's giving up? That he never will? That he wants to be fri-

"_MISS EVANS!" _McGonagall shrilled out. My head snaps up.

"_Can you please perform the spell?" _Oh, no. I wasn't paying attention. I quickly scan the classroom for help. Hest and Marly give me a look of "good luck, we weren't paying attention either!" and my eyes land on the Marauders.

"Avis! Avis!" Remus mouths. Oh thank Merlin he pays attention.

"Certainly Professor. Avis!" Conjured birds burst from the tip of my wand and circle around me. They were beautiful.

"Well done Miss Evans, for performing the spell so well," she hesitates "it is lucky for you, however, that Mr Lupin pays attention!" Awwww. Damn, games up.

"Detention at 5 pm tomorrow! Class dismissed."

We walk out of class and I can't help but chuckle at Potter's face, still in a trance of happiness. I walk past the talking Marauders to the Gryffindor tower.

"Are you okay, Prongs? What's up?" Sirius asked James as he watched Lily's hair bounce up the stairs. He answered Sirius so simply, yet so full of meaning.

"She called me James."

* * *

**Author note! Hi! Okay, I know James isn't/wasn't a Prefect, but deal with it :) OMG I just made this be read on google translate. I don't think I have ever laughed so much. Especially at sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**


	2. Acquaintances

_**Chapter 2**_

"Lils!" I hear Marlene shout from the Gryffindor table.

"Hi, guys! Honestly, how did she catch Remus?" I ask.

"No idea. So why did you come in late, practically the same time as Jam-" Starts Hestia.

I scowl. The only Marauder I really talk to is Remus, but Hestia is friends with them all. Marly thinks their hearts are in the right place, but do take their pranks too far sometimes.

"Oh fine, Potter. Getting frisky, were ya?" Hest wiggles her eyebrows and laughs.

"Ew, Hest! Not cool!" I hit her playfully and laugh. "I was abandoned by Marly so Potter tried to sit with me and ask me o- oh hell, you know the story." I say casually.

"So nothing else happened?" They prodded on.

"Oh course not!" I don't know why I don't want to tell them about him apologising. And acting like a person with human feelings. It just was something I wanted to keep to myself.

"Anyway, I've barely eaten today, so let me eat!" I grab some chicken and tear into it like a barbarian.

"BANG! BANG! BANG!" The noise came from the opposite side of the Great Hall. I turn around to see the Slytherins surrounded by a thin layer of pink smoke. I instantly know who's responsible.

I turn to face the Marauders, who are cracking up. I look at James, and can't help but give a small smile. Since Sev – Snape. Since Snape called me the M word, I can't help but enjoy Potter's revenge just a little bit. Yet I never _show_ I enjoy it. This explains the huge yet confused smile on Potter's face.

I turn to face the Snakes again, to see what the smoke apparently does, the Slytherins' hair is all pink. _**Pink. **_Not like light pink, or hot-pink. No, this is full on, bright, girly pink.

I turn back to Potter. I hesitate.

"Thank you Pot- James."

He looks absolutely stunned that I am talking to him. Let alone saying _thank you._

"_Earth calling Prongs, do you copy?"_ Sirius jokes, clicking his fingers in front of his face, and he wakes up from his shock.

"Sor- What- Why?" He manages to get out.

For making me laugh. For getting Snape back, let alone the rest of the Snakes. For being nice. For getting me food. For apoligising.

"For everything."

* * *

"Have fun on duty!" Marly calls.

"As always!" I call back sarcastically. I have Prefect duty with Potter.

I walk downstairs and meet him there. We greet simply with "Hi" and go to the second floor, where we are patrolling.

"Um, about earlier, I'm a bit confused about why you thanked me. I thought you hated my pranks?" He asked. I hesitate. He naturally thinks he offended me.

"Oh, if you don't want to tell me that's fine" He says reassuringly. I thought about what I should say as we caught two Hufflepuffs out of bed.

"Uh no, it's okay, I would've asked if it was the other way around. I just- last year- when Sev- No. When _Snape_ called me a- called me a-" And with that I can't help the tears that escape my eyes.

"Lily! Oh Merlin, I'm so sorry! Um, here." He hands me a tissue. I blow my nose like a foghorn.

"Thanks." I sniffle out. "It's just a-"I think of the right word "tender memory. He introduced me to this," I gesture to our surroundings, referring to Hogwarts "he was my only connection to the magical world. Then we were sorted, and he started to get… odd. Avery and the gang influenced him."

Potter looked stunned. "You knew him _before_ Hogwarts? Before your _letter?_"

"Uh, yeah. He lived near me, he saw me do magic, though I didn't realise. He called me a witch, which I thought was an insult, because Muggles portray witches as evil, ugly women."

He looks entertained about the last bit. "Muggles are _weird._" He starts, chuckling.

"He explained it all to me. Wands, Hogwarts, Laws, Azkaban. Everything. Then my letter came. I was thrilled." I say, smiling at the memory. I frown. "Tuney was not."

"Tuney? As in music?" He asks, obviously confused.

"No, no. As in Petunia. You know, the flower? She's my sister." I tell him, wondering if he knew I even had a sister.

"I never even knew." He says, sighing. "But the name makes sense. Lily. Petunia. Both plants. Anyway, so why was she so bummed?"

"Well, Snape and I found a Hogwarts letter in her room from Dumbledore. She wanted to come here, she asked, but he ever so nicely said that she couldn't. I told her maybe I could convince Dumbledore when I got here. She realised we read her letter and she said we were taken away for Muggles' protection."

I sigh. "And she called me a freak."

I looked at Potter. I could literally she his fury for Petunia burning in his eyes. He realises I am looking and swaps it for a sorrowed look.

"I'm sorry." He says calmly, yet his teeth noticeably clench.

"Don't be. It's a pretty common occurrence." I say, sighing. "Maybe I really am." Potter looks murderous. He can't hold it anymore; he grabs my shoulders forcefully, but not nearly enough to hurt me. He looks me straight in the eye.

"Lily, look at me." I look into his hazel eyes. Wow. "Lily, I personally would like to curse your sister into oblivion for calling you a freak. Lily, you are definitely not a freak. You are beautiful, and smart, and strong. You're brave and stand up for what you believe in. You are the bestest friend, though not to me, but I see how you treat your friends. You're loyal to them. And I am telling you, Petunia may be your sister by blood, but they are your real sisters. She's not worth it."

I stare into his eyes for a moment, and he looks at me like I am a billion bucks. Does he really like me that much? Hell, maybe we could… become like, acquaintances? Not friends, nope. At least not yet.

"We could be friends." I whisper, but it's so quiet here you could hear a pin drop. And I swear his jaw drops to the ground. "I mean, not yet. But we could try, um, James. I call you James and you call me Lily. And no asking me out."

He looks at me, fist-pumps the air, and screams "YESSSSSSSSSS"

And I swear his touch-down dance was the funniest thing I have ever seen.

* * *

Don't forget to R&R guys!


	3. When she'll so much as talk to you

_**Chapter 3**_

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

I groan, I hate waking up early. I try to hit the snooze button, but as I reached for it, a hand caught mine.

"Not a chance." Marly said, obviously amused. Why and _how_ does she get up so early, and look gorgeous. Maybe it was _because _she got up early?

"_Fineeeeeeeeeeeeee_" I say, half-asleep. I sluggishly walk to the bathroom and into the shower.

"AIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE" I scream, and jumped out. I thought it was hot. Whoops. Well, at least I am awake now. I step into the warm water and sigh. The steam and water on my skin felt like heaven. The memories of last night flooded into my head.

_James danced on the spot, like a fangirl when they heard a new movie in their favourite series is coming. __**(AUTHORS NOTE: Hahaha, FBAWTFT :D) **_

"_Why are you so happy?" I laugh. I admit, this was quite entertaining._

"_Are you kidding? Since first year, you hated me. This is how you feel when the girl you lo-"He choked loudly, his face disbelieving of what he had just said, or maybe even just realized._

_My face must have looked much the same._

_He recovered, slowly saying "This is how you feel when the girl you feel in love with over five years ago agrees to so much as talk to you." He glanced at me, shock still showing in his eyes. And then he left._

I try to shake off the thought, but fail. He… loves me? But… why? What was so special about me that other girls don't have? I rack my brain.

"_Hey, brain? You there? I know you're up there somewhere. Anyway, what do we know about boys?"_

_**Nothing.**_

"_Hey, worth a shot." _I think. Hmmmm, I'm good at Potions and Charms. But what else?

"'Hour 'til class Lils!" Hestia calls. It may sound like a long time, but trust me, it isn't. Together with hair, make-up, socializing, eating and forgetting something in the other side of the castle, it's barely enough.

I get out of the shower and dry myself off. I look at the mirror. Bluh, this is gonna take a while. I quickly dry my hair and tie it in an elegant knot near the top of my head. I put some make-up on to cover my dim freckles, but kept it natural. I chuck my Lion uniform on, and I am almost ready to go.

I grab my Potions essay and tools, some parchment and my quill. I look at the clock. I have forty minutes! Yes, that's brilliant! I walk (not run) downstairs. When I get to the Great Hall, I glance at James, but he's staring at me with wide hazel eyes, and his lips slightly parted.

_**James' POV**_

Lily walks into the Great Hall, completely un-aware that I was staring at her. He couldn't help it. She was so beautiful, so different from any other girl. Her hair was one of the things he just loved. It was dark red, tied in a messy yet elegant knot, with a strand of hair framing the left side of her face. Even from here, he could see her bright emerald eyes, smiling in a way. The thought of last night ruined his appetite.

"_Why are you so happy?" Lily laughs. She must think it's hilarious._

"_Are you kidding? Since first year, you hated me. This is how you feel when the girl you lo-"I choke. What? I was going to say… that I love her. Do I love her? Hell yeah. No question. But I never told anyone, and though I knew, it was sub-conscious. It was like being awaked, and I found myself dawning upon the fact that since she walked into that compartment in first year, I'd fallen in love with her. And every year my feelings for her grew. I hadn't even told Sirius, but I'd bet all my Galleons he knew. And here I just told her, well, half told her that I love her, the second I might've had a chance. I've blown it. Surely Lily will freak, I mean, I would._

_Yet, she stands there un-moving, with her lips parted into an O. Oh, hell. She knows what I was going to say, might as well do it properly. _

_I recovered, slowly saying "This is how you feel when the girl you fell in love with over five years ago agrees to so much as talk to you." I glance at her, making sure she isn't going to burst into tears or something. But, of course she doesn't, that's my Lily. She only cries when she's truly hurt._

And I left. Like an idiot. How can I apologise? _Should _I apologise? I mean, it's not exactly my fault… but it's not hers. No, I have to talk to her. I walk over to her and her friends.

"Um, Lily can I-"I start, before I am interrupted by a certain Blonde.

"No, James. She does not want to go out with you. Sorry." Marlene adds, and the Great Hall quietens.

"Uh, yeah I know. But Lily can I just talk to you for a sec?" I ask, trying to ignore that all of Hogwarts is listening.

_**Lily's POV**_

"Uh, yeah I know. But Lily can I just talk to you for a sec?" James asks. I self-consciously glance around the Great Hall, and everyone seems to be listening.

"Yeah. I mean yeah, okay. D'ya want talk now or…" I never finish the sentence. Quiet whispers, even a few gasps surround me.

"Now would be okay," James says, and then adds "aren't you all supposed to be eating?" Instant hustle of people trying to act like they weren't hanging on our every word.

I look at James, and he nods towards the door. We walk out and walk down the hall, far away from anyone to hear us.

"Where are we going?" I ask, as I realize we've been walking for a while. He grins, and says "The quick way to Hogsmeade."

"WHAT?! POTTER ARE YOU TRYING TO TAKE ME ON A DATE?!" I exclaim, obviously pretty pissed.

His grin instantly fades into panic. "No, no! Merlin Lily, I just wanted to talk to you in private, and I don't know about you, but I would appreciate a Butterbeer right now." He states.

"Okay, okay. But what if everybody thinks we're on a date?" I say, slightly panicked. Also what _is _the "quick" way to Hogsmeade?

He reaches out for my arm to stop me from walking. He looks into my eyes and says "Fuck everyone."

I sigh. He's right, fuck what people think, I really need to talk to him. Plus, I do fancy a Butterbeer and no one will overhear us in The Three Broomsticks, it's too loud.

"Okay… but can we go change then? I miss my muggle clothes." I say, relief covering James' face. We should be allowed to change.

"Yeah, sure. I miss muggle clothes too." He says, smiling.

We head back to our dormitories, and get changed. I change into jeans, a long-sleeved violet top with a light blue singlet underneath. Well, it is late October, I better take a jacket. I grab my blue hoodie and walk downstairs.

James wears jeans, wears a navy-blue shirt with a picture of two crossed golden bulrushes.

"I don't think Puddlemere United is a muggle team." I say, and he smiles.

He walk downstairs and a few halls before I ask "So," I say, "what is the _'quick way' _to Hogsmeade?" I say curiously.

He grins. "Can't tell you Lils, Marauders honour." I let a chuckle escape my lips.

"So you can show me, but can't tell me. That's… not very thought out." I laugh.

"Oh, I never said you were gonna see anything." A wicked smile crosses his face. I stop and slowly back away from him.

"What are you thinking Potter?" I squint at him.

"Back to Potter now, eh?" He laughs, knowing I'm only calling him that because he's about to do something evil. "Lils, you can come easily or I'll have to kidnap you." His evil smirk grew.

We begin to circle around the corridor slowly about 3 metres away from each over. "Let's say I did come quietly, how are you going to stop me seeing?"

He continues to circle. "I have a blind-fold. So what's your choice?" He asks, obviously enjoying this.

I laugh and say "You'll never take me ALIVEEEEEEE" I exclaim, running down the hall. From behind me I hear his roar of laughter and his feet hitting the ground. _Fast. Really _fast. Oh god, he's gonna catch up with- "WHOOSH".

I am off my feet. I open my eyes and look up, and James' eyes stare laughingly into mine, his hazel eyes twinkling while he carries me bridal style.

"Dammit." I mutter, causing him to laugh.

"So, kidnapping it is- don't give me that look Lils, it's your own fault you didn't cooperate." He says as I scowl, but he knows I find this funny, because if I didn't he'd have a broken nose and I'd be gone.

He blind-folds with his tie.

"Can you see Lils? How many fingers am I holding up?" He asks, and I can't see. To be honest, it's probably best he blind-folds me, because then I can say I didn't know where we're going if we get in trouble.

"Sixty." I say, my voice dripping with sarcasm. We begin to walk, and I almost trip over and sort of sticking out block of the floor, but James with his darned Quidditch-reflexes, caught me.

"No more walking then." He said.

"Wait what are you-"But he'd picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. Lucky I'd wore my jeans, so I wouldn't flash anyone. James held me up from the bottom half of my legs.

"Jamessssss." I groan. He laughs and says "Yes Lily?"

"Put me _down._" I say. He laughs harder.

"Nope, afraid I can't do that." He says.

I squirm trying to escape, and then result to pounding him on the back.

"You do realize you look like an overgrown child right now, right?"

"I hate you." I whisper, but the shaking of laughter from his body tells me he heard.

"Okay, we're here. No peaking." I hear him say, then whisper "Dissendium!" and there was a tap noise, and a louder noise. I wonder what it is. He walked forward and the louder noise went again.

"Lumos!" James says, and then "You can take off my tie now."

I take off his tie and look around at what appears to be a tunnel.

"Where does this lead?" I ask, curious.

"Honeydukes cellar. It gonna be a walk though." He said, and begun to walk.

* * *

"Shh." James says, as he lifts the tile enough to see the cellar. No one was there. James pushed the tile aside and quietly got out. He reached out towards Lily and helped her out.

We snuck upstairs and outside.

"So Lily, ready for our 'date'? He said, smiling while he fingered speech marks when he said 'date'.

"What have I gotten in to?"

* * *

CHERUBS! REVIEWWWWWSSSSSS I NEEDSSSSS ZEMMMMMMM


End file.
